BlackBerry Ltd Poised To Lead Future Car-Tech, Thanks To ONX

BlackBerry has launched new automotive operating system. This OS can fuel BlackBerry’s vehicle presence by as much as tenfold, according to the head of the QNX automotive software division.

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How BlackBerry’s QNX is better than peers

With manufacturers toiling to develop autonomous features in their vehicles, QNX looks promising to remove middlemen such as Tier 1 suppliers. BlackBerry aims to work directly with big automakers to provide the secure software, reports the Financial Post.

BlackBerry’s new operating system – announced at CES — can run highly complex software such as neural networks and artificial intelligence algorithms. As of now, vehicle software cannot connect within themselves and are a series of separate components.

John Wall, senior vice president and head of BlackBerry QNX, said, “The software that’s in the car today, all these discrete components developed on very primitive operating systems … it’s not up to the task of what’s being asked of the vehicle in the future. That’s why you need an operating system like we’ve developed to be able to handle that complexity.”

Wall said there will be maximum of 10 modules that can run their software, compared to one or two currently.

What all is in the works?

BlackBerry has seen the best and the worst of times and has gradually marked its presence in the vehicle software space. In 2010, the company acquired the QNX software systems, which is present in more than half of the rapidly growing market for vehicle infotainment software and is found in more than 60 million vehicles today. BlackBerry’s QNX system is used by companies such as Aston Martin, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen.

BlackBerry is now focused on developing a “software foundation” for autonomous cars and plans to open a research center for self-driving vehicles in Ottawa. At CES, the Canadian firm talked about its latest QNX SDP 7.0, which will be more secure and reliable. The company will also launch an autonomous Lincoln concept car. QNX SDP 7.0 is the most innovative system so far when it comes to cyber-attacks and conforms to the toughest security criteria currently available.

Also the Canadian company will display the specially developed Jaguar XJ with a digital Cockpit, HD in-car communication and active noise control. The company will also demo an autonomous Lincoln MKZ concept car that uses QNX.